Charles Strouse - Don't Forget 127th Street lyrics

[RONNIE, spoken] And when you're downtown sipping champagne with your high cla** white friends, don't forget this glorious environment which molded your character. Don't forget your roots! Ha ha ha... (sung) Don't forget 127th Street [RONNIE AND MALE ENSEMBLE] Don't forget your happy Harlem home Don't forget 127th Street [RONNIE] No sirree, there's no slum like your own! [JOE] I remember winter evenings at that window Watching those evictions in the snow [RONNIE AND FEMALE ENSEMBLE] Oh, no, Joe! Don't forget 127th Street [RONNIE] A little bit of heaven! [ENSEMBLE] Wherever you may go [RONNIE] Don't forget the cultural life on this here street [RONNIE AND ENSEMBLE] Richer than the outside world suspects Hark! The cheerful patter of all the junkies' feet [JOE] And the soothing tones of Malcolm X [RONNIE] Each night we hasten to our spotless subway Riding home is always such a treat Oh, no, Joe! [RONNIE AND ENSEMBLE] Don't forget our beautiful old ancestral home [RONNIE] An angel named it Harlem! [ENSEMBLE] Called 1-2-7th Street [Dance break] [JOE, spoken] Ronnie, Ronnie, now that I've seen you dance, I am firmly convinced that we ain't all born with it [Dance break] [ENSEMBLE] Remember moonlight on the Harlem River [JOE] And the cops all strolling two by two [ENSEMBLE] Oh, no, Joe! Don't forget 127th Street [JOE] Our dandy little ghetto! [ENSEMBLE] Whatever you may do [FEMALE ENSEMBLE] Don't forget 127th Street Here where you were born and raised and fed Even as a baby, you always smiled so sweet [JOE] When the falling plaster hit my head Sure, when I'm driving in my big Ferrari With some luscious rich chick as my pet Believe me How I'll miss this beautiful '27th Street Ladies and gentlemen, I a**ure you! I'll miss it every chance I get! [CHILD ENSEMBLE] Don't forget our glorious P.S. 42 With the ninety kids in every cla** Radiators full of ice all winter through Man, oh, man, you really freeze your- [RONNIE] H is for the h**n they sell here [JOE] A is for the alleys where kids play [RONNIE] R is for the rats that run pell-mell here [JOE] And L is for the landlords, far away [RONNIE] E is for the endless clean-up projects [JOE] And M is for the moldy roofs above [JOE AND RONNIE] Put them all together, they spell Harlem Woah yeah! [JOE] You nitwit... The place that white folks think we love [Dance break] [JOE] 'Cause when I'm far away, Lord, in some strange city [ENSEMBLE] All alone and feeling mighty blue Oh, no, Joe Don't forget 127th Street For 127th Street will never forget- [JOE] The neighborhood is cla**y We got rats as big as La**ie [ENSEMBLE] '7th Street will never forget- [RONNIE] Keep your mink and ermine We got fifty kinds of vermin [ENSEMBLE] '7th Street will never forget- [JOE] Hey, we got a right to howl We got Adam Clayton Powell! [ENSEMBLE] '7th Street will never forget you! [ALL] Oh yeah!